ZDF journalist Jochen Breyer reveals new details about the fan scandal on February 29, 2020 in a documentary. Did everyone know?
Munich - Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Dietmar Hopp hug in the Sinsheim rain.
It was probably the most symbolic gesture of reconciliation on the memorable 24th matchday of last season.
Football took a back seat when Bayern supporters in Hoffenheim defamed the club patron and sponsor of TSG, Dietmar Hopp.
This was followed by expressions of solidarity on and next to the football field.
The high-profile actions now appear in a new light.
Because:
ZDF
journalist Jochen Breyer illuminates in his documentary "The Trial: How Dietmar Hopp became the hateful figure of the Ultras" how the escalation in Sinsheim could come about.
He speaks to supporters of ultra groups, lawyers and DFB sports officials and is certain "that before the game in Sinsheim almost everyone knew what was going to happen, TSG Hoffenheim, FC Bayern and the DFB".
Hopp scandal: ZDF journalist Breyer surprised that "almost everyone knew about it"
In an interview with the
taz
, ZDF journalist Breyer revealed that the management of FC Bayern, Dietmar Hopp and the DFB were informed of the abuse of Bayern fans in the run-up to the encounter.
Bayern honorary president Uli Hoeneß also admitted in the documentary that he knew about the planned insult to the Munich fans who had traveled with him.
When the Bayern supporters unrolled posters against Hoffenheim patron Dietmar Hopp when the score was 6: 0 for the record champions, referee Christian Dingert interrupted the encounter.
Bayern player and coach Hansi Flick * stormed to the curve and asked the fans to refrain from insulting them.
A little later, the teams continued the game, but the posters reappeared.
As a result, both teams left the lawn and the game threatened to be abandoned.
FC Bayern and TSG Hoffenheim agreed to push the ball back and forth for the rest of the season in order to set an example against hatred in football.
Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz-Rummenigge and Dietmar Hopp stood clapping on the sidelines.
After the final whistle, the officials stepped onto the lawn in pouring rain and demonstratively applauded the Hoffenheim fans who had turned against Hopp's insults.
An unprecedented gesture in German football.
Bayern Honorary President Uli Hoeneß defends the public demonstration of solidarity.
The Munich sports official had repeatedly condemned the behavior of the Bayern ultras.
Uli Hoeneß is not the only one who distances himself from his own fans, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Chairman of the Board of Management of FC Bayern, also takes the Bayern supporters to court.
“That was the ugly face of Bayern Munich.
There is no excuse for that, ”emphasized Rummenigge at the time.
DFB President Fritz Keller added in the evening in the
ZDF's
current sports studio
: "We have hit rock bottom."
Dietmar Hopp: patron, billionaire and enemy of the ultra groups
The abuse of the Bayern Ultras on February 29 of last year were not the first attacks on Dietmar Hopp.
The 80-year-old is seen as an enemy in many fan circles, as he led the small football club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim from the lowlands of amateur football to the Bundesliga.
The co-founder of the software giant SAP achieved the rise through a clever strategy and extensive financial injections.
For many die-hard fans of the traditional Bundesliga clubs, this is a taboo break that they express with slurs and insults against Hopp.
As the
ZDF
documentary shows, the 80-year-old is taking legal action against individual fans, Borussia Dortmund away fans are not allowed to play games in Sinsheim for years due to previous insults.
Hoeneß supports Dietmar Hopp: "There is only one victim and only one group that is guilty"
In an interview with Jochen Breyer, Bayern Honorary President Uli Hoeneß * makes his point of view clear: "There is only one victim and only one group that is guilty," he emphasizes and draws attention to Hopp's voluntary work.
Hoeneß thus meets the basic tenor that was initiated in the aftermath of the scandalous encounter.
Also
ZDF
-Journalist Jochen Breyer introduced a few weeks after the scandal-game interview with Dietmar Hopp.
This was rightly criticized by some fan scenes.
"At the time, I took the criticism very seriously and met with representatives of the ultra scene after the show to hear their version of the conflict," emphasized Breyer.
The documentary is an attempt “to catch up on what we missed back then: to portray this complex, multi-layered, emotionally charged conflict in a balanced way,” wrote Breyer.
The
ZDF
documentary opens up new capital in the long smoldering conflict between fan organizations and TSG Hoffenheim patron Dietmar Hopp.
The 80-year-old did not have a say in Jochen Breyer's documentation.
He does not want to comment on the events.
(
jjf / SID
)
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